Parties use youth as props in student loan war

A group of sweaty college students transformed Monday from a group of Republican congressional interns into press conference backdrops.

En masse, they complied with instructions from a staffer to put their suit jackets on and stand in the 90-degree heat while House Speaker John Boehner and others blasted Democrats over student loan rates.

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Lawmakers often try to turn what can be tedious news conferences into dog-and-pony shows, but no recent issue has offered such ready-made backdrops as student loans, since there’s a pack of college students sitting in every congressional office.

The interns, in fact, were meant to be seen and not heard.

“We’re not supposed to talk to the press, so let’s go,” one intern admonished another at the end as they left the Capitol steps.

Student loan rates doubled last week from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent, but little has been accomplished in Congress to turn the rate back. Both parties see the issue as something that will break through to average Americans, and they’re trying to capitalize with a barrage of well-staged news conferences to try to drive what they see as a winning message.

“Backdrops, in this case students, are used as the vehicle to quickly illustrate the issue at hand,” said Brent Swander, who oversaw advance for Rep. Paul Ryan, the 2012 GOP vice presidential nominee, during last year’s presidential campaign. “You need to be sure the folks watching the evening news or those quickly skimming the newspaper Internet can connect to your story.

“Utilizing members of their caucus or simply standing at a podium is ineffective because a photo or video does not allow the audience to quickly pick up on the message without further reading or listening,” he added.

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) held a similar event last month, although the crowd wasn’t composed of Hill interns. Pelosi, who deploys crowds behind her at news conferences much more often than her Republican counterparts, invited students from United States Student Association, Young Invincibles, Campus Progress, National Campus Leadership Council and Student PIRGs. Unlike the GOP, where only lawmakers spoke, Democrats had a series of student association leaders take the microphone to tell their stories.

House Republicans are trumpeting a bill they passed last month that would change the way student loan rates are calculated, tying interest to the 10-year Treasury note. But it was done with a clear veto threat from the White House because it would reset the loan rates every year, similar to the way adjustable rate mortgages are handled.

The Senate is expected to make another failed attempt to pass a one-year extension on Wednesday. Senators are holding closed-door meetings but little has been accomplished, particularly as Majority Leader Harry Reid continues to criticize Republican and bipartisan proposals.

Nate Hodson, spokesman for the House Republican Conference, said the fact that the House GOP acted on a fix shows that they’re making an effort while the Senate does nothing.

“Offices are hearing more and more about the issue from college students, particularly returning this week from the work period over [July 4],” Hodson said. “But it’s a simple answer for our members: The House has acted to protect college students, and now it’s time for the Senate to stop playing politics with their futures.”

The stakes are high for the GOP as an opportunity to connect with young voters, a segment of the population President Barack Obama has won handily in the past two elections, Republican strategist Joe Brettell said.

“Young, casual observers of this fight are more likely to blame the party in the White House, particularly after supporting him in such great numbers,” he said. “It’s one of a few fiscal issues the GOP can use to reconnect with Millennials in months and years to come.”

Democrats, meanwhile, say the House GOP plan would use rate increases to lower the deficit.

“They’re trying to balance the budget on the backs of students; it’s completely reprehensible,” said Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill. “They’re looking at students as a source of revenue at a time when cost of going to college continues to go up and up every year. I think most college students find that very disturbing.”

Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) thinks none of the political theater will matter because voters are paying close attention.

“I imagine the families that are struggling to make ends meet, who oft times the responsibility of paying back these loans falls to, they’re paying attention to this,” Crowley said. “You can stack it with as many interns, folks who are primarily still in school today, as you want, it doesn’t satisfy the millions of people who are concerned about the doubling of their interest rates.”